Incubation period in the 2,2,4,4‐tetramethyl‐1‐piperidinyloxy‐mediated thermal autopolymerization of styrene: Kinetics and simulations

Mechanisms and simulations of the induction period and the initial polymerization stages in the nitroxide‐mediated autopolymerization of styrene are discussed. At 120–125 °C and moderate 2,2,4,4‐tetramethyl‐1‐piperidinyloxy (TEMPO) concentrations (0.02–0.08 M), the main source of radicals is the hydrogen abstraction of the Mayo dimer by TEMPO [with the kinetic constant of hydrogen abstraction (k_h)]. At higher TEMPO concentrations ([N?] > 0.1 M), this reaction is still dominant, but radical generation by the direct attack against styrene by TEMPO, with kinetic constant of addition k_ad, also becomes relevant. From previous experimental data and simulations, initial estimates of k_h ≈ 1 and k_ad ≈ 6 × 10^?7 L mol^?1 s^?1 are obtained at 125 °C. From the induction period to the polymerization regime, there is an abrupt change in the dominant mechanism generating radicals because of the sudden decrease in the nitroxide radicals. Under induction‐period conditions, the simulations confirm the validity of the quasi‐steady‐state assumption (QSSA) for the Mayo dimer in this regime; however, after the induction period, the QSSA for the dimer is not valid, and this brings into question the scientific basis of the well‐known expression k_th[M]³ (where [M] is the monomer concentration and k_th is the kinetic constant of autoinitiation) for the autoinitiation rate in styrene polymerization. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6962‐6979, 2006     

Continuous reaction system to investigate the dispersion polymerization of vinyl monomers in supercritical carbon dioxide

A laboratory‐scale continuous reaction system using a stirred tank reactor was assembled in our laboratory to study the dispersion polymerization of vinyl monomers in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂). The apparatus was equipped with a suitable downstream separation section to collect solid particles entrained in the effluent stream from the reactor, whose monomer concentration could be measured online with a gas chromatograph. The dispersion polymerization of methyl methacrylate in scCO₂ was selected as a model process to be investigated in the apparatus. The experiments were performed at 65 °C and 25 MPa with 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile as the initiator and a reactive polysiloxane macromonomer as a surfactant to investigate the effect of the mean residence time of the reaction mixture on the monomer conversion, polymerization rate, polymer molecular weight, and particle size distribution. The results were compared with those obtained in batch polymerizations carried out under similar operative conditions. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 4122–4135, 2006     

Synthesis of poly(vinyl chloride)‐b‐poly(n‐butyl acrylate)‐b‐poly(vinyl chloride) by the competitive single‐electron‐transfer/degenerative‐chain‐transfer‐mediated living radical polymerization in water

The synthesis of a block copolymer poly(vinyl chloride)‐b‐poly(n‐butyl acrylate)‐b‐poly(vinyl chloride) is reported. This new material was synthesized by single‐electron‐transfer/degenerative‐chain‐transfer‐mediated living radical polymerization (SET‐DTLRP) in two steps. First, a bifunctional macroinitiator of α,ω‐di(iodo)poly (butyl acrylate) [α,ω‐di(iodo)PBA] was synthesized by SET‐DTLRP in water at 25 °C. The macroinitiator was further reinitiated by SET‐DTLRP, leading to the formation of the desired product. This ABA block copolymer was synthesized with high initiator efficiency. The kinetics of the copolymerization reaction was studied for two PBA macroinitiators with number–average molecular weight of 10 k and 20 k. The relationship between the conversion and the number–average molecular weight was found to be linear. The dynamic mechanical thermal analysis suggests just one phase, indicating that copolymer behaves as a single material with no phase separation. This methodology provides the access to several block copolymers and other complex architectures that result from combinations of thermoplastics (PVC) and elastomers (PBA). From industrial standpoint, this process is attractive, because of easy experimental setup and the environmental friendly reaction medium. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 3001–3008, 2006     

Melting behaviors,crystallization kinetics,and spherulitic morphologies of poly(butylene succinate) and its copolyester modified with rosin maleopimaric acid anhydride

This article investigated the melting behaviors, crystallization kinetics, and spherulitic morphologies of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and its copolyester (PBSR) modified with rosin maleopimaric acid anhydride, using wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and polarized optical microscope. Subsequent DSC scans of isothermally crystallized PBS and PBSR exhibited two melting endotherms, respectively, which was due to the melt‐recrystallization process occurring during the DSC scans. The equilibrium melting point of PBSR (125.9 °C) was lower than that of PBS (139 °C). The commonly used Avrami equation was used to describe the isothermal crystallization kinetics. For nonisothermal crystallization studies, the model combining Avrami equation and Ozawa equation was employed. The result showed a consistent trend in the crystallization process. The crystallization rate was decreased, the perfection of crystals was decreased, the recrystallization was reduced, and the spherulitic morphologies were changed when the huge hydrogenated phenanthrene ring was added into the chain of PBS. The activation energy (ΔE) for the isothermal crystallization process determined by Arrhenius method was 255.9 kJ/mol for PBS and 345.7 kJ/mol for PBSR. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 900–913, 2006     

Degradation of 4-chlorophenol in aqueous solution by γ-radiation and ozone oxidation

The application of radiation technology in the en-vironmental protection was listed as one of the mostimportant research fields by the International AtomicEnergy Agency (IAEA) for the peaceful use of nuclearenergy. It has great research value and potential appli-cation. Because of their broad-spectrum antimicrobialproperties, Cholophenols (CPs) have been used aspreservative agents for wood, paints, vegetable fibersand leather and as disinfectants. In addition, they havebeen widely employed…     

Modelling of composting of food waste in a column reactor

The composting of organic solid waste, the mixture of fruit and vegetable leftovers enriched with night soil, was investigated in a closed thermally insulated reactor. It was found that 80.9 % of the original substrate biodegraded after 14 days. A mathematical model of the column reactor was proposed where the biodegradation rate of the organic solid waste was described using simple n-thorder kinetics. A good prediction of process performance was obtained using the proposed kinetics and experimentally obtained reaction heat. Presented at the 33rd International Conference of the Slovak Society of Chemical Engineering, Tatranské Matliare, 22–26 May 2006.     

Kinetics of muonic hydrogen drift in axial symmetric geometry

The kinetics of muonic atoms of hydrogen isotopes in an axially symmetric trap is studied. The problem of the determination of the initial kinetic energy distribution of µp and µd atoms from time-of-flight spectra is discussed. The effects of the scattering of muonic atoms from gas and of the stopping distribution are evaluated. When the collision length is much larger than the target radius, the moments of the kinetic energy distribution are shown to be determined by the time-of-flight spectrum in a model-independent way.     

纳米复合固体超强酸SO_4~(2-)/ZrO_2-Fe_2O_3的制备及其催化合成硝基苯的研究

采用纳米化学技术制备了新型的纳米复合固体超强酸催化剂SO42-/ZrO2-Fe2O3,并用XRD、TEM进行了表征.结果表明:所研制的SO42-/ZrO2-Fe2O3催化剂为晶态纳米粒子,平均粒径为30 nm,分散性较好;当活化温度为580℃,反应温度为75℃,n(硝酸)/n(苯)=2,m(苯)/m(催化剂)=20,催化反应时间5 h时,硝基苯收率可达89.6%.     

磷酸三丁酯从硝酸介质中萃取铀（Ⅵ）的动力学研究

用上升单液滴法和恒界面池法研究了磷酸三丁酯-环己烷从硝酸介质中萃取铀(Ⅵ)的动力学。萃取过程为扩散控制,得到了在扩散控制下影响萃取速率的一些规律。     

兖州高硫煤的加氢热解脱硫及脱硫动力学

在加压热天平上，考察了氢气和氮扬气氛下高硫煤的热解脱硫。利用气相色谱在线分析研究了硫化氢氢气的逸出规律。结果表明，加氢热解比氮气下的热解有着更显著的脱友作用，脱硫率可达９０％以上。而且加氢热解下６５％的脱除硫转化为气相硫化氢，而氮气下热解是有８０％的硫转化为液相。